The joint findings of the German newspaper Der Spiegel and the American publication Insider show that two Afghan asylum seekers in Germany are suspected of spying for the Russian intelligence agency.
Based on these findings, the two asylum seekers were likely members of the GRU, Russia's military intelligence service.
The findings of Der Spiegel and Insider have shown that several people have been in contact with the GRU and are living in Germany as Afghan refugees.
One of the suspects, a 27-year-old Afghan who came to Germany from Russia last spring, is now living as an asylum seeker awaiting deportation in the German state of Brandenburg.
The second suspect, an Afghan, has been living in Lower Saxony, Germany, as an asylum seeker awaiting deportation since the summer of 2023. They have not yet been deported from Germany because of the situation in Afghanistan.
According to the findings of these two media outlets, Russian intelligence agents have been recruiting people in Afghanistan since 2015 and then providing them with Russian visas and other required documents.
In addition to the two Afghan suspects, a third Afghan asylum seeker, believed to be a member of the Russian intelligence network, was arrested in April by the German Federal Police near the Polish border.
The suspects are believed to have been part of a Russian military intelligence programme aimed at weakening the former Afghan government and supporting armed groups.
Earlier, Insider magazine revealed in an exclusive report that the Russian military intelligence provided financial support to the Taliban during the presence of foreign forces in Afghanistan.
The publication's findings show that Russia paid the Taliban an average of $200,000 to kill each US or coalition soldier.
